1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a surface protection mat for protecting surfaces exposed to liquids dropped thereupon and walked upon by the public, such as at entrances to buildings, high traffic areas, cafeterias and like places. More specifically, the invention relates to a multilayered surface protection mat that is inexpensive, sanitary, disposable, and intended for use in restrooms and the like and to be placed on the floor about a toilet or under a men's urinal to capture the dripping of urine during a urinating activity, thereby protecting the floor from staining as well as to prevent slip and fall accidents by persons walking on such surface.
2. Description of Related Art
Floors and countertops are subject to accidental liquid spills, and in the case of floors, potentially causing slip and fall hazards. Also, the liquid from the spills often damages the surface causing costly repairs. To preserve a dry condition, these floors and countertops require constant maintenance.
Normally, scheduled maintenance is used to monitor and clean up accidental spills. These spills occur frequently and often go unnoticed for long periods of time. Currently, excessive maintenance schedules attempt to solve the problem. However, damage to the surface still occurs between maintenance.
If a floor is exposed to a liquid spill, a danger is presented that a user will slip and fall. This is an ongoing problem in bathrooms and near urinals on tile surfaces where urine may drip when a user misses the target. As such, floor mats are extremely desirable in restrooms both for protecting users from unexpected dangers and for protecting the restroom floors from urine drippings.
Solutions to the above problems exist. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,075, issued Aug. 25, 1981 to Nelson, discloses a two-piece sanitary commode mat for protecting floors from urine. The mat includes a solid base and a hingedly attached cover formed as grille work. This cover is treated with silicone compounds to repel fluids. A replaceable pad is contained in the mat cover. The pad has an impervious plastic film base, layers of absorbent material overlaying the base, and a top previous film of non-woven material. In use, the urine falling on the grille work passes through, on and through the permeable top film of the pad, and absorbed therein. The absorbent pad may be impregnated with disinfectant and deodorizing chemicals. Maintenance is performed by opening the hinged cover, removing the pad for disposal, rinsing the base and hinged cover grille work, and installing a fresh pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,580, issued September 1988 to Rockett et al., discloses a surface mat of continuous filament, non-woven nylon to protect floors during inclement weather. The mat contained an absorbent inner layer comprised of a mixture of polymeric micro-fibers and wood pulp, and a liquid impervious film-backing layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,275, issued May 1982 to Louis M. Vargo, discloses a disposable floor mat designed to support a person(s) standing thereon and used in bathrooms, hospital operating rooms and the like for absorbing water, urine and other liquids. The mat is constructed of a sheet of liquid absorbent matting with raised portions of V-shaped or rounded cone tops coated with a repellent to direct and divert the liquid into the mat and the matting impregnated with a sanitizing agent to avoid cross-contamination. The bottom of the mat is provided with ridges to prevent contact with the contaminating liquid, and excess liquid will flow in the valleys of the mat and onto the floor surface during maintenance. The height of the mat may create a tripping hazard. When saturated, the mat is thrown out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,669, issued April 1989 to Robert C. Roga, discloses a floor protection system consisting of three separate pieces combined to form a single unit. The top layer is of nonwoven fiber, with a water impervious film, laminated to the underside. In one embodiment, a layer of absorbent paper is interposed between these two materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,474, issued March 1984 to Sagel, discloses an absorbent, disposable floor mat for entranceways.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,332, issued March 1997 to Saylor, Jr., discloses a slip resistant floor mat intended for foot traffic across wet floor surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,658, issued Oct. 2, 2001 to Jenkins, discloses a floor-mat system to contain spills and includes an insert to direct liquid to an absorbent pad located at the back of the mat. This system requires a flat surface to operate effectively and thus liquid may not reach the absorbent pad. Additionally, liquids vary in viscosity and surface tension requiring more than gravity for proper flow to the absorbent pad.
Additionally, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,275, issued Sep. 10, 2002 to Wright, the Applicant herein, and a surface protection mat comprised of a top layer provided with a grid of rectangular shaped openings, an intermediate layer of absorbent material, and a base layer, forming a moisture barrier. Further, Wright discloses the above noted references and other references, believed less relevant.
While the above solutions are believed suitable for the problems then addressed, there is an ongoing need for a surface protection mat that is inexpensive, disposable, captures liquids, can be stood upon by the user to protect the feet from standing in foul liquids, such as for use in catching urine droppings and catching other fluids, obviates slips and falls, and provides ease of maintenance and replacement.